A controlled clinical trial of ascorbic acid for the common cold. Ann NY Acad Sci

Vitamin C has been a popular medication for preventing the common cold and reducing the severity of cold symptoms for many years. 1-r ' Professor Pauling's recent book on the subject has led to even further use of vitamin C in even larger doses.<; This study was performed to look for a difference in the frequency and severity of colds in a generally healthy, middle-class, medically aware population of employees at the National Institutes of Health. High doses of vitamin C were used for both prevention and treatment; virus isolations were attempted in an effort to relate viral types to vitamin C response; and the study was continued for a nine-month period in an attempt to examine seasonal variations of viruses and colds. The study was conducted so that nurses, phy-sicians, and volunteers did not know who received placebo and who received ascorbic acid. Only the consulting statistician and the pharmacist could relate patient code numbers to medication received. Progress was monitored by a research committee not connected with the day-to-day activities. METHOD